Invisible Fox
by Princess-Serenity-Serena
Summary: ADOPTED FROM TheBeardedOne! An accident bestows a completely new Kekkai Genkai on an orphaned boy.
1. Prolouge

Invisible Fox

 **Prologue**

Some people claim that Fate controls everything. There are many sayings supporting this view. Sayings like ' _You can't fight Fate'_ or _'Fate always wins'_. For those who look at life that way, prophecy is an echo of fate, a signpost showing what must be.

Others claim that chance rules over all. That chance is constantly interfering, that a single flap of a butterfly's wing can cause a hurricane half a world away, that how a single leaf falls can change the universe. Prophecy for them is sign of what might be, depending on how it is looked at.

Both claims are true, and both are false.

The very nature of the multiverse explains why memories blur. It doesn't matter if one steps to the left of a stone or to the right. If one catches a ball or drops it has almost no effect on the greater path of things. They are simply localised ripples in the river of reality, slight signs that people are switching between universes where the only difference is where they put the car keys the previous evening.

Occasionally, though, a choice is made that does affect the river of realities. An Event occurs that diverts the flow, that changes the future for that particular sub-stream of realities. This is known as a Divergence.

There can be many such Divergences. A boy gains a scar on his forehead in accordance with a prophecy. But what if the scar took away his sight? What if the infant wandered away from the doorstep he was left on and got taken in by a woman who would come to care for him? What if an assassin returning from a mission took him and introduced him to her friends, one of whom was a god? What if he was taken in by those related to him but managed to turn himself into a magical cat a few years later? The Divergences are endless and go different routes with different endings.

But then what is the Divergence here? What is the event that caused the river of reality to settle into a different bed of events?

The answer lies in a dark and stormy night…

Well, a mid-afternoon, actually. But I always wanted to say the above.

.

 _In another universe, the genin practicing the chameleon jutsu that his sensei gave him would still have noticed the young boy spying on him, copying his actions. The genin, in his anger at being watched, would have chased the boy until he was stopped by a member of the ANBU. He would have been interrogated and cleared of everything except hot-headedness, a lesson he would take to heart. He would learn meditation, self-control and would pass his first Chunin exam with flying colours. And when he saw the boy again at the boy's chunin exams, he would fail to recognise him, but he would protect the boy as he left the arena after his friend, preventing a Sound Nin from throwing a poisoned kunai at him. Eventually he would make Jonin, get married and have children, living out his days happily and training a new team, imbuing them with the art of self-control._

 _But that was in another universe..._

.

"Aaargh! Only the legs this time!"

Naruto looked up from the piece of food he had found at an abandoned training campsite. Although burned and then slightly dampened by the light drizzle, it was still edible, especially since he hadn't had more than a few scraps to eat in the three days that he had been thrown out of the orphanage on his fifth birthday.

Making a decision, Naruto stuffed the rest of the food into his mouth and crawled into the underbrush, his overly-large jacket (that he had liberated from the orphanage's washline after the matron had literally kicked him out during the night in just his underwear) brushing against the ground as he crept barefoot through the twigs. Reaching a position where he could peer out through the narrow gap between two trees, he paused long enough to re-tie one of the strings that held his oversized trousers in place, trousers that had come from the same line as his jacket.

What he saw was almost unbelievable, a boy a bit more than twice his age, with only his upper body visible. Naruto stared as the boy's legs faded back into view, then the boy began a sequence of handseals, carefully forming each one as he did so. Naruto watched, his wide eyes taking in every finger twitch that the older boy made.

" _Toton no Jutsu_!"

The boy faded from view and Naruto gasped.

"Who's there?!"

The boy flickered back into view and his hand blurred, sending a trio of shuriken slicing though the undergrowth. Naruto flinched and scrambled away as fast as he could. As he did so, a Kunai sliced past his head, missing him by barely a fingerwidth before bouncing off a tree and landing on the ground. Never one to pass up free tools, Naruto grabbed the Kunai as he dodged round another tree, then an idea occurred to him.

Maybe if he could vanish, the boy chasing him would leave him alone. Biting on the handle of the Kunai, Naruto began the hand-seals, unknowingly channeling Chakra and a hint of Youkai as he did so.

.

 _The term_ Million-to-one-chance _is often used to describe things that happen despite all the apparent factors that should have prevented it. When one sits down and actually calculates things, the odds are usually far greater._

 _One small boy managing to correctly copy the hand-seals for a Jutsu created by a Sannin and learned by several shinobi who specialised in infiltration and stealth._

 _250 to 1_

 _The boy actually being near a training field where said Jutsu was being learned by a Genin whose Jonin-sensei had left with the other two Genin for lunch._

 _25,000 to 1_

 _A Genin accidently throwing the only Chakra-conductive Kunai he had in his fully-stocked Kunai pouch._

 _20 to 1_

 _A Five-year old channeling Chakra a full two years before he could reasonably be expected to._

 _100 to 1_

 _Unknowingly containing the most powerful demon in existence and utilising its power by accident._

 _20,000,000 to 1_

 _A bolt of lightning hitting a person._

 _5,000 to 1_

 _Cancel the previous. A bolt of lightning hitting a person_ without killing them at the exact instant that they were releasing a jutsu _._

 _2,750,000,000 to 1_

 _The total odds of such a sequence of events happening._

 _687,500,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 to 1_

 _Compared to that, a million-to-one chance is a dead certainty._

 _But Uzumaki Naruto, in every single universe he existed in, was known to live without being affected by the odds. If something was considered impossible, he could generally do it. He could learn the Rasengan in a month, then complete it when the Yondaime Hokage had given up on it. He could overcome an inability to replenish his Sage Chakra by using Kage Bunshin to do it for him._

 _And he could survive being hit by lightning._

 _Although the interaction between the lightning, the jutsu, his healing ability, his chakra nature (wind) and the suddenly-shocked-awake Kyuubi inside him…_

… _produced something that no-one could have foreseen._

.

The Genin sat against the wall in the Hokage's office, his wide eyes staring at nothing visible to the rest of his team.

"…then he… he ran and I… I tried to… and he… lightning… gone…"

Hiruzen stared at the genin, then at the Jonin who shrugged.

"I have no idea, Hokage-sama. We came back from our lunch and found him like this. I would like to ask for permission for Yamanaka Inoichi or one of his clan to use their skills to find out what happened to cause this."

"I agree." Hiruzen said. "It may be important. Take him to the Yamanaka compound, and report back once the situation has clarified itself."

"Hai, Hokage-sama!"

.

"Eeurgh. What hit me?"

Naruto slowly sat up and rubbed at his eyes, looking round. For several moments, the mental fog prevented his mind from recognising the situation, but eventually, several important facts percolated through.

He could see.

But he couldn't see his hands.

He could see.

But he couldn't see any part of himself.

As the facts registered, Naruto inhaled sharply, then he screamed.

.

Afterwards, Naruto would be hard pressed to reconstruct the events of his first afternoon of invisibility. The first half-hour or so passed in a panicked haze, as he ran around trying to find evidence that he actually existed. Eventually, he decided that the bruises that he had accumulated by running into trees probably counted towards him still being alive and he sat down just as two masked figures landed.

"So, _this_ is where the demon brat was killed." One of them said with a satisfied tone of voice. "It seems like Susanoo had the right idea yesterday. I think I'll switch to worshipping the storm god for killing the Uzumaki gaki."

Naruto froze. He didn't know who or what Susanoo was, but having the masked figures talk about him like that…

"The work of the Fourth has been completed." Said the second in a tone of deep satisfaction. "He sealed the Kyuubi, turning it into a baby, and now that kid is _finally_ dead."

Naruto's eyes widened and he felt his insides congeal. Was that why everyone hated him? Was he really the Kyuubi, the monster that had attacked Konoha five years ago?

With a heavy heart, Naruto rose and set off towards the Hokage tower. Maybe the Old Man who occasionally visited him could provide answers.

As he walked, Naruto became aware that no-one was glaring at him, or making signs to ward off evil. In fact, no-one was looking at him at all. After the third time that he had to leap out of the way of someone striding along, Naruto tucked in behind a team walking towards the tower, using them to shield himself from being knocked over by those who didn't know that he was there.

"Hey! Did you hear the news?"

The man leading the team paused, his students (and Naruto) coming to a stop as another ninja jogged up.

"What news?"

"The Uzumaki kid's dead! He was hit by a lightning bolt and turned into vapour! He's gone, and so is that damned demon he was carrying."

Naruto blinked. The demon he was _carrying_? But wasn't _he_ the demon?

"That isn't good." The team leader said after a few seconds of thought. "It means that we've lost our Jinchuuriki, we're now the only one of the great five without a demon container. That puts us at a disadvantage."

Naruto frowned. Demon container? Did that truly mean that he _wasn't_ the Kyuubi after all?

"But with the Kyuubi gone forever, we are the village that destroyed not just a Biju, but the _strongest_ Biju." The new ninja smirked. "No-one will dare use theirs against us in case we destroy theirs as well. The Sandaime is going to make a speech about it tomorrow morning from the roof to explain everything."

"Then I shall hold off on tomorrow's mission." Said the team leader. "Thank you, aniki."

"No probs, big bro."

Naruto sneaked off, sliding past the chunin guarding the entrance to the tower. Running silently up the stairs, he soon reached the roof. Walking to the edge, he looked out at the sprawling town, then he sighed and moved to shelter from the afternoon sun under one of the curved panels extending upwards from the edge of the roof terrace. Closing his eyes, he muttered a curse as he discovered once again that he could still see perfectly with his eyes closed.

How was he supposed to sleep if he couldn't even block out the light?

.

"People of Konohagakure!"

Naruto jolted out of his light doze as Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice echoed, magnified by the seals set into the rising pillars.

"People of Konohagakure, The day before yesterday saw the death of Uzumaki Naruto…"

A huge cheer rose from the gathered crowd and Naruto's eyes filled with tears at the proof that he was hated so much. Hiruzen frowned and motioned for silence, a silence that was a long time in coming.

"As I was saying, the day before yesterday saw the death of Uzumaki Naruto and as such, it is time that you knew the truth about him. Naruto was born of the tenth of October, the day that the Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked Konoha. As most of you know, the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato, sealed the Kyuubi into the boy at the cost of his own life. That much you all know, but it is nowhere near the whole truth.

"Both of Naruto's parents died on the day of his birth, giving their lives to seal away the Kyuubi. His mother was Uzumaki Kushina, the Red-Headed Habenaro and Kenjutsu mistress, as well as the _second_ Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi."

The crowd erupted in gasps, shouted questions and screamed denials and Hiruzen again motioned for silence.

"The first Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi was Senju Mito, born _Uzumaki_ Mito and the wife of the First Hokage, a Kunoichi who bound the Kyuubi into herself when it was being controlled by Uchiha Madara at the Valley of the End. When she was dying, she transferred her burden to her niece Kushina, who had come here from Uzushiogakure to do so. The fact that Kushina held the Kyuubi was not well-known, at her request, but by holding it, she protected Konohagakure in a manner deserving of respect and admiration, for only an Uzumaki can hope to contain the Kyuubi without dying.

"During her time as a kunoichi, Kushina met and fell in love with another shinobi. They often fought side by side and she eventually married him in a secret ceremony. Soon after, she became pregnant with his child.

"A problem that female Jinchuuriki have is that when they give birth, the seal that holds the Biju weakens, meaning that it is possible for the Biju to escape. To keep Konohagakure safe should such a thing happen, Kushina, her husband and my wife secretly travelled to a cave for Kushina to give birth there, a cave that only they knew the location of.

"Or so they thought."

The entire city was silent, the population barely breathing as the previously unknown story unfolded.

"As she was giving birth, they were attacked by an unknown person. My wife was killed trying to protect them and the Kyuubi was ripped from Kushina, mortally wounding her in the process. The person then unleashed the Kyuubi against Konoha, a night that we all remember only too well.

"It was the Yondaime who saved us, but he did not do so alone. He managed to return the Kyuubi to the cave, where he and the dying Kushina worked together to seal the Kyuubi once more, this time into her son. Using a seal that cost him his life, Minato finished the sealing, then he and Kushina died in each others arms from the wounds they had taken. They died, and their son, Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto, lived."

For almost a full minute, it didn't sink in, then a wave of shouts, curses and protests rose into the air. Once again, Hiruzen motioned for silence, but this time, it was a long time coming. When the crowd had finally quietened down, Hiruzen spoke again.

"The last wish of Minato was that his son would be seen as a hero. This morning, I fulfilled that wish when I engraved his name on the memorial stone. In his death, he took the Kyuubi with him. He was _not_ the Kyuubi, he was its prison and its jailor, only a fool or a moron would believe otherwise.

"And with him gone, so to goes any chance of the Namikaze legacy being revived. The Namikaze Mansion, hidden behind the time-space seals, can only be opened by one of Namikaze blood, and there are none now that Naruto is gone. The _Rasengan_ and the _Hiraishin_ are now no more, the scrolls containing them forever concealed in the Namikaze library. I have no doubt that our enemies shall rejoice at our misfortune. I can hope only that when he died, Naruto truly took the Kyuubi with him, for if he did not, the Kyuubi shall return for it is almost impossible to permanently kill a Biju since they reform within ten years of their deaths and we no longer have an Uzumaki available to contain it for us.

"I hope you are proud of yourselves and of the hatred you had for the one who saved us."

With that final snarled comment, accompanied by a blast of Killing Intent that almost caused Naruto to empty his bladder, Hiruzen stalked off, vanishing back into the tower. As the other adults followed him, talking amongst themselves in low voices, Naruto stayed motionless, thinking about what he had learned.

His father was the Fourth Hokage!

His mother had been a famous ninja!

He was the reason his parents had died, and everyone thought that he was dead. Him and the Kyuubi inside him.

The sun sank as Naruto thought about what he had learned. As it touched the horizon, Naruto nodded to himself.

"They think I'm dead, so I am. I'm going to be a ghost. I can't be Uzumaki Naruto anymore, I'm Yurei, a spirit. I'll stay as Naruto, but now… Now, I'm Yurei Naruto, the Spirit of the Maelstrom."


	2. Chapter 1

**Invisible Fox**

 **Chapter One**

.

For most of Konoha, it was a bright and pleasant day. The Demon Brat had died a month prior, causing quite a few celebrations, followed very soon after by several mass admissions to the hospital as those who saw the lineage of the Jinchuuriki as being more important than his burden disagreed with those who hadn't bothered to understand the difference between something that is sealed and what it is sealed in.

It was probably worth noting that almost all the hospital admissions were people in the latter category, with a very large majority of them being non-ninja. Although the injuries were generally not permanently crippling, they tended to be very painful and slow to heal, often leaving scars.

Oddly, most of the victims received spiralling scars on their lower abdomens, scars suspiciously similar to the seal that had once been used to restrain the Kyuubi.

After the fuss had died down to a low simmer, Konoha entered a new phase. With the loss of its greatest weapon, the Hokage decided to re-organise his ninja to compensate. Within two weeks of Naruto's apparent demise, the first non-Uchiha military police had been recruited from the Hyuuga, Aburame and Inuzuka clans while almost half of the Uchiha ninjas of chunin level and above had been reassigned to the active shinobi ranks with a specific code of conduct being enforced regarding the use of their Sharingan within Konoha itself (although this was balanced by the payment of bounties for jutsu copied from the ninja of other nations and placed into a new archive for any ninja to learn from).

This was only the first (and the most obvious) of the changes.

.

Hinata tried to back up further, but the tree behind her prevented her retreat as the three girls loomed before her.

It wasn't fair! She was only almost six, what had she done to annoy them like that? Why couldn't they leave her alone? All she wanted was someone to be friends with, not to be hit for something that she didn't even have anything to do with.

The leader of the trio, a girl named Ami, smirked as she slowly swung the stick that she was holding, a stick which she had snapped so that the end was sharp and jagged.

"Why are you doing this?" Hinata begged and Ami's face twisted into a wicked grin.

"Because you are a Hyuuga, so high and mighty. Well, we'll show you that you don't need to be in a clan to be strong."

Hinata crouched, curling her arms to protect her face, then she heard a loud slap.

"Who did that!?

"I… didn't see anyone, Ami."

"Well someone hit me." Ami snarled, looking round, then her gaze snapped back to her confused victim. "I bet it was you, we all know you Hyuuga do weird things."

Hinata shook her head. She had no idea what was going on, but…

SLAP!

Ami leapt into the air with a scream, grabbing her butt. Her two friends stared at her in shock.

SLAP! SLAP!

Hinata managed not to giggle as the other two girls suddenly reacted, grabbing at their own butts.

"…hide…"

Hinata blinked as the young voice whispered into her ear, then she nodded and quickly slipped behind the tree that the trio had backed her against. Keeping her back to the tree, Hinata wished that she had managed to activate her Byakugan so that she could see what was happening on the other side of the tree, where the three girls were standing back to back and…

Hinata blinked in shock. She could _see_ them, even though the tree was between her and them. The colours had faded and she could see the glow of chakra…

She had activated her Byakugan!

Managing not to shout with joy, Hinata concentrated on what was happening. Her Byakugan was only letting her see about twenty meters, but it was more than enough to let her watch the bullies.

SLAP!

Ami's head jerked round, he cheek reddening with the invisible impact, then another slap sounded and the girl with the large hairstyle started to cry. The third girl raised her hands to cover her face, only for something to grab her hair and pull, causing her to stumble to her knees.

"Who's doing this?!" Ami screamed and Hinata gasped as the voice that had told her to hide spoke.

"I am Yurei and I was bullied while I lived. Now all who pick on others shall feel my pain!"

Ami's nerve broke and she fled, her face fixed in an expression of terror, her two friends running after her, leaving liquid evidence of their presence.

Swallowing, Hinata stepped back round the tree, her Byakugan fading as she did so. "Y… Yurei-sama? Are… are you still here?" Although the voice didn't answer, Hinata could almost feel invisible eyes looking at her. Gathering her courage, she bowed deeply. "I.. My name is Hyuuga Hinata. Thank you for saving me."

For a moment there was only silence, then the voice whispered a name.

"Yurei Ruto?" Hinata repeated. "Thank you Ruto-sama."

"…you are not scared of me?" the voice whispered and Hinata smiled.

"You saved me. Why should I be scared?"

Hinata almost jumped as an invisible hand took her own, then she reached down with her free hand to stroke its fingers. Moving her hand, she traced a path up Yurei's arm, feeling a worn, loose sleeve over his bony limb, then up to his shoulder, his neck and finally she stopped with her hand cupping the side of his face. Although she couldn't see him, she stared into the space where his eyes would be and smiled.

"Hinata-sama!"

Hinata jumped at the call and dropped her hands, realising just too late that in doing so, she no longer _knew_ where her saviour was.

"Hinata-sama, it is time for you to return to the clan compound. Your mother wishes for you to meet your new sister."

Hinata gasped with joy. She had known that her mother was due to give birth, and now she had a sister.

"Coming!" She shouted, then she looked round, realising even as she did so that it was probably a totally pointless action. "Ruto-sama, will you come with me? Please?"

For a moment, there was no response and Hinata blinked away the tears that threatened to fill her eyes.

"…alright."

Hinata smiled as she felt a hand slide into her own.

.

"…she's so small." Hinata said in astonishment, gazing at her new sibling. Hitomi giggled tiredly.

"She will grow, Hinata. She will grow."

"Indeed she will." Said another voice and Hinata looked up to see her father smiling down at them. "I think we should tell our daughter the name of her new sister, don't you?"

"Her name is Hanabi." Hitomi replied, looking down at her newest daughter.

"An excellent name." Hiashi said, gently reaching out to run a finger down the cheek of his youngest child. "Hinata, come and say hello to your sister."

Hinata moved forwards and smiled as Hanabi briefly opened her eyes.

"Hello, Hanabi. I'm your neesan, Hinata."

.

Hinata closed the door to her room. Grateful for the privacy seals in the walls, she pulled out a box of food that she had _liberated_ from the kitchens under the pretence of getting a bedtime snack.

"Ruto-kun? Are you here?"

"…yes."

Hinata breathed a sigh of relief and held out the box. "Here, I brought you some food. If you want water, help yourself."

As she spoke, Hinata glanced at the small jug of water on her bedside table and hid a smile as she saw that the level had already dropped somewhat. A moment later, the box seemed to float out of her hands and into the corner, where it sank until it was only a little above the ground, at almost the same height as it would have been had Hinata balanced it on her lap. The top lifted off and was placed on the floor, then an invisible hand picked up the first onigiri.

"Itadakimasu." Ruto's voice said and then part of the onigiri vanished. Hinata watched almost entranced as the food vanished into an invisible mouth, bite by bite. Soon, the box was empty and it floated back into her hands. Hinata placed it on her desk and then bumped into Ruto, grabbing him to keep her balance.

"Oh, sorry."

"It's okay."

Hinata smiled, then a thought occurred to her. Where was Ruto going to sleep? There was, after all, only one bed in her room.

One bed.

"Ruto, what do you sleep in? Do you have pyjamas?"

"No, I wear my boxers."

Hinata nodded and used her hand on his shoulder to lead Ruto to the bed. "You're sleeping here tonight, okay?"

"Sure." Ruto shrugged.

.

Hiruzen stared at the square of fabric that had been placed on his desk.

"What am I supposed to be looking at?"

Chunin Ebisu adjusted his small sunglasses before replying.

"Hokage-sama, I was training when I stepped on this. What caught my attention was that although I could feel it, I couldn't see it. Please, examine this for yourself."

Sarutobi frowned, then carefully reached for the centre of the fabric. His questing fingers encountered a length of fabric-wrapped metal and his eyebrows shot up.

"Is this…?"

"A Kunai." Ebisu replied. "As far as I can tell, it is a chakra-conductive Kunai which somehow… is invisible. I cannot explain it."

Hiruzen nodded absently as he closed his eyes and extended his other senses. The way that the Kunai channelled the chakra was familiar… the way that the metal was folded so that the outer surface had none of the ripples of the more common mass-produced Kunai… the tensile strength of the blade… the etching on the inside of the pommel ring…

"This is a Higurashi Special Kunai." Hiruzen finally said, opening his eyes again to look at how his hand appeared to be empty even though he was gripping the handle firmly. Holding out his hand, he placed the Kunai in Ebisu's hand. "I know that you are very well-read, see if you can decode the etchings."

Ebisu blinked, then carefully ran his fingers round the inside of the ring.

"8… 16… 3… I have a Kunai from the same batch as this one! But that means…"

"That someone has managed to create a process that turns things invisible, but lost the Kunai that it was used on." Hiruzen replied soberly. "Take the Kunai to Higurashi tomorrow and let him examine it, since he made it, he may be able to work out what was done to change it."

"As you command, Hokage-sama." Ebisu bowed, then he vanished in a _shunshin_.

.

"Hinata-sama? Are you awake?" a voice called in through the door. "You asked to be woken early today."

Hinata opened her eyes and yawned with a smile, pausing as she realised that her arm was trapped under Yurei's body.

"I'm awake, give me a minute!" She called out, pulling gently to extract her arm without waking her saviour up. Her efforts proved unnecessary when Ruto sat up and yawned.

"Good morning." Hinata whispered, praying that Ruto would take the hint and keep quiet. Her prayers were answered when Ruto hugged her and whispered "Good morning, Hina-sama."

"You can call me Hina-chan, Ruto-san." Hinata whispered back, returning his hug, then she released him and moved to her wardrobe, pulling out a towel.

"Ruto," She whispered, "You need to wash too and the bath-house is normally deserted at this time. If you leave your clothes in the corner so you can find them afterwards… it'll be quiet later and you can wash your clothes then."

A rustling of fabric was her answer and Hinata blushed at the thought that Ruto was naked.

"Come on." She whispered as Ruto took her hand and she shifted his grasp to her shoulder as she opened her door.

.

Hinata shrugged off her sleeping robe and hung it on one of the hooks, trying not to blush as she stripped in front of Ruto. Walking to the corner washing cubicle, she filled a bowl and pulled out a stool.

"Sit down and I'll wash your back."

"Okay."

Hinata picked up the soap and a flannel, using them to lather her hands, then she reached out cautiously and her questing fingers encountered Ruto's head.

"Close your eyes."

"They're closed." Ruto retorted with amusement. "But I can see through my eyelids."

Hinata's eyebrows shot up as she thought about it for a moment, then shaking her head, she poured some water over Ruto and started to rub the soapy lather into his hair. Within seconds, she heard Ruto inhale sharply as her fingers caught in a knot and she used the distribution of the suds to see where the hair was tangled, easing it loose. Soon, the hair was clean and Hinata poured the basin of warm water over Ruto, only to pause in shock.

She had expected to see a shape as the water clung to his skin, but instead the water was turning invisible too as it flowed over him. Curious, Hinata brushed her hand across his back and it came away wet with the invisible water slowly fading back into view. Shrugging, she lathered her hands again and started to wash Ruto's back, her hands gliding over his protruding ribs as she scrubbed his back and flanks while he used another cloth to wash his front and limbs. After a few moments, she refilled the basin and rinsed the suds off, then she gathered her courage again.

"Will you… wash my back?"

The stool scraped slightly as Ruto stood up and Hinata moved forwards, only to trip over Ruto. As she fell, Ruto grabbed her to try and keep her upright but only succeeded in slowing her fall and landing across her. Hinata's blush intensified as she realised which portion of his anatomy she was feeling pressed against her stomach, then Ruto was off her and pulling her to her feet. Feeling as if her blush was causing her to overheat, Hinata turned and sat on the stool as the flannel and soap seemed to float into the air and move behind her. A moment later, Ruto poured some water over her as she had done to him, then began working the lather gently into her hair. Hinata closed her eyes and found herself leaning into his ministrations. Too soon her hair was rinsed and Hinata almost sighed before Ruto began washing her back. Once again, he did it the way that she had done to him and Hinata almost fainted from embarrassment as his hands rubbed against her sides.

"Hinata-sama?"

Hinata forced her eyes open and looked blankly at the soap and flannel floating in front of her before she realised what Ruto was trying to tell her. Feeling her blush extend down to her chest, she mumbled her thanks as she took the cloth and began washing herself.

.

"Hinata, can you look after Hanabi for a moment?" Hitomi asked and Hinata nodded as Hitomi placed the carry-basket by Hinata's side, then she glanced at the book that Hinata was holding.

"Reading that story again? I'm sure that Hanabi would love to listen to it as well."

"Yes, kaasan." Hinata smiled back, choosing not to mention that she was reading it aloud to help Ruto learn to read as he had admitted that he only understood a few of the simpler kanji. Giving Ruto an apologetic glance (to which he responded by briefly tightening his one-handed hug), she turned back to the first page of the book which had become extremely popular despite the _other_ series that the author was famous for. Taking a breath, she smiled down at her sister as she started to read.

" _The tale of the utterly gutsy Shinobi._

" _A novel by Jiraiya of Konohagakure, dedicated to Nagato, Yahiko and Konan of Amegakure._

" _May peace one day be enjoyed by all._

" _Chapter One._

" _The journey of a thousand steps begins with but a single pace, but it is the most important since without it, the journey cannot be travelled. Naruto stood outside the entrance to the ninja academy and looked at the building before him…_ "

.

"… _and so Naruto stood proud as his new sensei accepted him as part of the team, his new life as a ninja open before him as he finished taking the first step on his new journey._ " Hinata finished. Placing the bookmark so that she would be able to find the second chapter when she decided to continue reading it, Hinata smiled down at Hanabi, then jumped with an _'eep!'_ as a small round of applause sounded. Looking round, her eyes widened as she saw over a dozen Hyuuga of both the Main and the Branch Houses had settled around her to listen, completely unnoticed by her until that point.

"That was excellent reading, Hinata." Hitomi smiled as she rose from where she was sitting and walked over to kneel by Hanabi's side. "I think your sister really enjoyed listening to you."

"Thank you." Hinata smiled as she slid the book into her bag and picked it up.

"She really is a good reader." One of the other Hyuuga women commented and Hinata's smile widened slightly.

"You are." Ruto whispered into her ear and Hinata blushed at the sincerity of his voice.

Hitomi stood, holding Hanabi in her basket. "Thank you, Hinata. Now, I think it's almost time for dinner."

"Yes, kaasan." Hinata replied, lifting her bag. "I just need to put this away first."

Hitomi nodded and strolled off. Hinata breathed a small sigh of relief, then Naruto whispered in her ear.

"I'll sneak some food from the kitchen and meet you in your room."

"Alright." Hinata whispered back.

.

Ruto's whimpers woke Hinata and she shifted position, cradling his head against her shoulder. After a moment, Ruto woke with a gasp.

"Ruto-kun, what happened?"

"Nightmare." Naruto said quietly. "Bad dreams… memories."

"Tell me." Hinata said, sitting up and shifting Naruto so that he was just beside her, his hand in hers as she hugged him. For a long moment, Naruto remained quiet, then he started to speak.

"Before we met, I had a different name. My name was Uzumaki Naruto…"


End file.
